Whitworth opened up the 2024-25 season with two home victories vs non-conference opponents.
The Pirates faced East Texas Baptist in their season opener, defeating the Tigers 84-69. After a back-and-forth first half, Whitworth pulled away late behind fifth-year seniors Jake Holtz and Garrett Long. Holtz led the Pirates with 26 points, with Long tacking on 20.
Against Benedictine, Whitworth cruised to a 90-59 victory. Head Coach Damion Jablonski emptied his bench as five players finished in double figures, with junior Colton Looney pacing the Pirates with 17. That depth is an encouraging sign for the Pirates as they look to replace the production of three starters from last season’s Northwest Conference (NWC) championship-winning team.
“We’ve got a lot of talent on our team and a lot of guys that play different roles and have different skill sets,” said Holtz. “I think as the year goes on, we’ll get better and better as we learn each other’s game even more.”
Despite the turnover from last year, Holtz feels that the 2024-25 group is the most connected off the court that he’s been a part of in his five years at Whitworth. About half the team lives in the same apartment complex off campus, where a weekly bible study is held. Holtz also credits the freshmen class as being eager to work hard and form relationships with the rest of the team.
“They really enjoy each other off the court,” said Jablonski. “And as a result, I think you’re going to see that translate out on the court as well.”
Tuesday’s opener was played in front of roughly 1,200 fourth and fifth graders who were visiting local Spokane public schools. Apart from just taking in the game, the students got to hear from three Whitworth student-athletes during halftime, as they shared some experiences and talked to the kids about their journeys that led them to Whitworth.
“It was a really awesome community event. They had incredible energy; it was so loud in there,” said Jablonski. “Hopefully, it’s something we can do again in the future.”
The Pirates turned their attention down south as they flew to California to take on California Lutheran and Caltech. The game against California Lutheran will be a rematch of last year’s first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Pirates won that contest 78-73 in overtime before eventually falling in the second round to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The Pirates played in the Whitworth Fieldhouse on December 6th, at 6 p.m., against Belhaven University, and on December 7th against Harden-Simmons University at 7 p.m.
